As students moved in and prepared for classes, Pitt athletes were already hard at work preparing for their season openers, highlighted by the backyard fightThe 11-year football hiatus ends. However, the other Pitt sports had their fair share of competition to kick off the school year. That’s how they did it.
Women’s Football:
Pitt defending graduate student Hailey Davidson (11) smiles to the crowd at Thursday’s game against UMass at Pitt’s Ambrose Urbanic Field.
The Panthers (4-0-0, 0-0 ACC) kicked off their season with a trip to Missoula, Montana for the Rumble in the Rockies. They defeated Gonzaga 1-0 on August 18 thanks to a 57th-minute goal from forward Amanda West. The stats were almost even in most categories — The Bulldogs slightly outscored the Panthers 17-16 and doubled them in shooting on goal 10-5. Despite the pressure, senior goalkeeper Caitlyn Lazzarini turned her head and saved all 10 shots to keep the score 1-0 until the final whistle.
West scored again in the second game against the host Montana, but this time the Panthers have insurance. Second-year midfielder Bri Hilsenteger scored the second goal in the 80th minute, while Pitt’s defense gave Lazzarini comparative rest between the posts, allowing just three shots into the net; she saved all three. Pitt defeated the Grizzlies 2-0 en route to winning the Rumble.
West’s two-goal performance at the Rumble earned him ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Pitt traveled back to Steel City for his first home game against UMass and dominated his opponent in every aspect of the game. Their 6-1 victory capped off a game where the Panthers had five times as many shots as the Minutemen (35-7) and six times as many shots on goal (18-3).
The Panthers ended their weekend with a win against Cleveland State. they handled business last year with a 5-0 shutout victory at home but outclassed themselves this year with a 6-0 away win. West scored his fifth goal in four games, while freshman midfielder Fleming Dean scored back-to-back goals, her first two collegiate goals. The Vikings, on the other hand, managed just one shot on goal during the entire 90 minutes.
pitt will come home to face Kent State on Wednesday. ACC Network Extra will air the game at 7 p.m.
Men’s soccer:
He does not. 8 Panthers drew an immediate challenge for their season opener: 2019 national champions and second-place Georgetown. a file 2000 people I watched the game at Ambrose Urbanic Field, which was the first on-campus sporting event for the 2022-23 year.
The game started with three goals in the first 10 minutes, including two goals in 30 seconds. Georgetown junior defender Kenny Nielson and Pitt junior forward Bertin Jacquesson scored in the fifth minute, while senior midfielder Valentin Noel scored in the 11th minute.
The score remained 2-1 for the rest of the match and Pitt prevailed, although the Hoyas had their chances in the last 45 minutes. Pitt’s senior goalkeeper Joe van der Sar deflected all three shots on target at the half.
pitt will host No. 6 West Virginia in on Monday as a Brawl appetizer for the big showdown on the soccer field later that week. The ACC Network will broadcast the game starting at 7 p.m.
Volleyball:
No. 6 Pitt kicked off the 2022 campaign with a trip to the College Station Invitational over the weekend, eight months after his heartbreaking loss in the national semifinals. The Panthers’ season opener was a close matchup with world no. 25 in San Diego last Friday, but they couldn’t get their bearings and lost to the bullfighters three sets to two.
Despite 16 spikes from redshirt side-hitter Valeria Vázquez Gómez, Pitt underperformed after the second set. In the third set the team accumulated more errors (9) than shots (7). San Diego senior setter Grace Frohling led the game with 19 kills and graduate student Gabby Blossom racked up 53 assists.
The Panthers bounced back with a sweep against Hawaii in the second game of Saturday’s invitational. Vázquez Gómez led the game with 12 kills, while graduate student Cam Ennis and sophomore setter Rachel Faribanks each collected 16 assists. pitt too swept host Texas A&M on the last day of the invitational thanks to Fairbanks’ 13 spikes, 15 assists and 11 digs. His triple-double was Pitt’s first since then-senior setter Azadeh Boroumand (11k, 35a, 12d) accomplished the feat against State of Southeastern Missouri in 2006.
For their next game, the Panthers travel to Provo, Utahon Friday for the BYU invitational and will face River City rival Cincinnati.
